Incorporation Door Opens For 2 Hamlets In Mchenry

A McHenry County judge on Monday upheld the constitutionality of a new state law that will pave the way for two small communities in the county to incorporate.

Circuit Judge Haskell Pitluck ruled on a law passed last summer that allowed the incorporation last month of the tiny community of Ringwood and that is now being used by residents of Greenwood and Barnard Mill.

Pitluck ruled that the legislature and Gov. Jim Edgar did not abuse their discretion when they enacted the incorporation law.

Attorneys for a real estate developer and Wonder Lake had argued that the incorporation law was illegal "special legislation" designed only for McHenry County hamlets, but Pitluck disagreed.

"We are not here to speculate on the legislature's reasons for passing the law, but legislation is presumed to be constitutional if there is a reasonable basis for it," Pitluck ruled.

"A difference of opinion is not enough to declare an act unconstitutional. I will admit that it looks a little weird to me to put in such special provisions, but it is not for me to speculate on why the legislature did that."

Pitluck's ruling came on an objection to the proposed incorporation of Greenwood, but it also brought cheers from supporters of the Ringwood incorporation and the proposed incorporation of Barnard Mill. All three communities are within about 4 miles of each other, and Wonder Lake is less than a mile west of Greenwood.

"We're relieved, because it's been frustrating (fighting the legal challenge)," said Harriet Goss, a member of the Greenwood steering committee.

"You never know what a judge is going to do, but we feel secure now," said Evelyn Nash, another steering committee member.

The law, signed by Edgar on June 13, lowered incorporation requirements from a minimum 2,500 people within at least 4 square miles to 200 people in 2 square miles, but only until Dec. 31, 1995. The law also applied only to counties with populations of between 150,000 and 185,000 that are within 10 miles of the Wisconsin line, a distinction that fit only McHenry County, said attorneys William Caldwell and Richard Curran, who represented the objectors.

Ringwood, Greenwood and Barnard Mill each have populations ranging from about 250 to 350 and areas of a little more than 2 square miles. McHenry County's latest census figures at the time of Edgar's signing showed a population of 183,241.

Speculation on why the legislation was introduced in the first place centers on smaller communities wanting to establish their own borders to control growth and prevent being swallowed up by larger, development-minded towns.

Ringwood is at Illinois Highway 31 and Ringwood Road, while Barnard Mill is at Greenwood and Howe Roads and the community of Greenwood is near Greenwood and Aavang Roads.

Caldwell and Curran argued that there was "no rational basis" for the narrow law and that other counties faced with urban sprawl don't have the same benefit.

"It makes no sense to create this little niche for McHenry County and nobody else," Caldwell said.

Caldwell said outside court that his client, Madison Realty Group of Chicago, didn't want to have 180 acres in a nearby unincorporated area and a road in Greenwood, because it would mean facing requirements from two different governing bodies.

Curran argued that the incorporation of Greenwood would limit expansion opportunities for Wonder Lake because the new community would be on Wonder Lake's western boundary.

However, Michael Chmiel and Valeree Marek, attorneys for the Greenwood group, argued that villages and developers are opposed to small incorporations because anti-growth forces would hamper economic development.

Chmiel also pointed out that numerous laws especially designed for Chicago have been upheld.

Wonder Lake and Madison Realty Group have 30 days to file an appeal with the Illinois Appellate Court, but Goss and Nash, of the Greenwood steering committee, said they don't think an appeal will hamper their efforts to get the incorporation proposal to pass on April 4.

"The voters in our community are very positive. If we hadn't had strong public support, we wouldn't have attempted this," Goss said.

Alfred Stresen-Reuter, an organizer of the Barnard Mill incorporation referendum, which also will be held April 4, was a little more cautious.

"We're also pleased, but it remains to be seen what will happen if there's an appeal," Stresen-Reuter said.

"We weren't involved in the Greenwood suit, but if the law is declared unconstitutional on appeal, somebody could file another suit against our incorporation if the referendum passes and get the results thrown out on the same basis."

Unlike the proposed Greenwood incorporation, there were no objectors to the Barnard Mill proposal, which was approved Nov. 30 by Judge Susan Hutchinson of McHenry County Circuit Court.

A ruling of constitutionality also could have caused a challenge to the Nov. 8 incorporation of Ringwood, but Rick Mack, a leading Ringwood organizer, said he was "not surprised" by Pitluck's ruling.

"The legislature and governor are careful about approving legislation that could be held unconstitutional," said Mack, a community affairs specialist for Metra. "They both have staffs of attorneys that review proposed laws.

"A ruling of unconstitutionality would have put a question mark on our referendum and put us in a position where our incorporation could be challenged, but we were going to move forward regardless.

"This is what our founding fathers wanted-for us to have control over our own destinies."